However, free feeding kibble throughout the day has serious health drawbacks. Pets who are prone to anxiety from food insecurity may have to be free fed as well. Some animals benefit from free feeding, particularly elderly or sick pets who need help keeping their weight on. Once you set out the food, you wouldn’t have to do much monitoring other than keeping it full. Of course, the biggest advantage to free feeding is the convenience. You would keep topping it off every time it gets low and rely on your pet to determine how much to consume. Unlike when you measure a portion of kibble that your pet can nibble until the next scheduled serving, free feeding doesn’t have any means of portion control. It’s different from meal feeding because your pet has the opportunity to eat throughout the day instead of at predictable intervals. What is Free Feeding?įree feeding, also known as grazing, is when you set out a large, unmeasured quantity of food for your pet. Consider the following before you begin free feeding your pet while you’re out of town. It can be tempting to simply leave a self feeder full of kibble out for your cat or dog, but it’s not always the best idea. If you’re struggling with the transition to a scheduled feeding system or need help understanding your dog’s specific nutritional needs, give us a call at 48.You Want What’s Best Is Free Feeding Your Pet a Good Idea? Scheduled feeding is more sanitary, it allows you to easily track your companion’s food intake which can help alert you to possible sickness, it offers a bonding opportunity, and it allows you to estimate when your dog will need to relieve himself. When it comes to scheduled feeding or free feeding, at East Valley Animal Hospital, we highly recommend scheduled feeding because of its many benefits. If you’re in a home with multiple dogs, you’ll find this practice makes it easier to gently remind each dog to stay at his own bowl and not interfere with his furry pals. You’ll want to monitor him while he eats to ensure he isn’t inhaling his food or eating from his housemates’ bowls. If your dog is new to scheduled feeding, they may struggle with this method a bit. The key here is to offer a strict portion in accordance with their specific dietary needs. Some dogs will do well receiving one meal a day while others do best with two. This means that you are feeding your pooch a set amount of kibble, or alternative food, one to two times a day. In most cases, veterinarians recommend scheduled feeding for their four-legged patients. More assertive dogs may intimidate their submissive siblings and steal their portions, leaving some dogs overfed, and the others malnourished. If you have a multi-dog household, you will also encounter the issue of monitoring each individual dog’s daily intake. That means the problem of overfeeding impacts one out of every two dogs. In fact, 56 percent of dogs in the United States are overweight or obese. Unfortunately, for the domestic dog, this impulse can easily lead to obesity. So naturally, their instinct is to eat as much as possible, not knowing when their next meal will come. In the wild, a dog may only receive a meal once a week. One of the problems with this method, however, is that many dogs-while not all-will struggle with portion control. When asked why they choose this option, many owners cite convenience as the primary reason. Much like it sounds, free feeding is the practice of leaving an unlimited amount of food in the bowl for your dog to graze on throughout the day. If you’re on the fence about whether scheduled feeding or free feeding is the right option for your four-legged friend, East Valley Animal Hospital would like to help you weigh the pros and cons. That’s why consulting your local vet is so important. And we understand why this can be so tricky, because it changes based on the age, health, weight, breed and exercise level of your pup. Many dog owners are unaware of the proper nutrients their dog requires. You may think: as long as Fido doesn’t go hungry, then he’s fine, right? But in order to give your pup a full, healthy and happy life, there’s a bit more to consider than that. When it comes to feeding your dog, you may not give portion size and mealtimes much of a thought.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |